Support garments have various constructions in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,235 to Peters discloses a shirt which is worn on the upper torso of an individual, preferably a weight-lifter. The upper portion of the shirt has a circumference which is substantially less than the chest circumference of the wearer while the lower portion has a circumference which is substantially the same as the waist circumference of the wearer. Peters alleges that when the shirt is zipped, there is significantly more pressure exerted by the garment across the chest portion of the wearer as the material of the shirt must stretch more at the upper chest portion of the shirt to close the distance than at the waist portion of the shirt. Peters contends that the extreme tightness of the shirt adds to the upward force required for lifting a weighted bar upwards and away from the chest, such as in a bench press.
While some support garments have been adapted to assist in athletic type activities, others have been adapted to provide support and/or protection of injured muscles. For instance, elastic bandages formed from a strip of elastic material which can be wrapped about a portion of the body and retained in place by metal clips or tape are one arrangement known in the art. Alternatively, tubular support members are illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,586 to Hettick which discloses a support member having an outer facing bonded to the interior and exterior surfaces of an elastic material. The interior and exterior surfaces of the support member have relatively low coefficients of friction and the same stretch rate as the elastic material. Hettick theorizes that adequate but not excessive tightness can be made possible by the low coefficient of friction, the absolute memory of the support member, and the stretchability in all directions, whereby the body portion enclosed conforms to the tube rather than vice versa.
While the above-described devices may be suitable for the uses for which they were designed, there is a desire to provide body support garments having improved circumferential and longitudinal muscular and skeletal bodily support for athletes engaging in movement intensive sports (e.g., football, soccer, and the like). It would be further desirable to provide body support garments having improved impact absorption and thermal properties in combination with improved muscular and skeletal bodily support. Still further, it would be desirable to provide a body support garment having predetermined muscular and skeletal support, impact absorption, and thermal properties. These characteristics are especially useful where a body support garment is required to adequately protect injured muscles, bones, and tissues from further injury in movement intensive sports.